Physicians?

I'm thinking about medicine as a career choice, and I just wanted to know what kind of SAT scores you had, and what kind of grades you had in high school in order to get into a school with a good pre-med program. And also, what college did you go to, and what type of major did you have. Any help would be great, thanks.
Answer:
I am starting med school in the fall. I was never asked on any application to med school what my SAT score was, instead they are much more interested in your MCAT score. The MCAT should be taken after a person has completed all college science courses necessary to be admitted to med school (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Organic Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology). I had a 3.2 GPA in High School (again, they didn't ask what my high school grades were like). I graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in human health studies Summa *** Laude with a 4.01 GPA.

So what should you do? I would recommend that you find a College major that you enjoy, med schools don't care what your major was in college, but they do care about what you made of it, why you chose that major, how well you did in your classes and science prerequisite classes, what extracurricular activities you participated in. So, acceptance to medical school is not a science its an art, you have to be able to articulate why you did the things you did. They will ask you these things in a med school interview and they are looking for people who know what they are doing, why they are doing it and what goals they have for the future.

That being said, don't ever let anyone deter you from pursuing the career of your choice. If medicine is something you really want to do, I guarantee you will achieve your goal. I had a friend that was rejected 2 years in a row to med school and finally was accepted his 3rd time because he persisted. Good luck!

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The SATs were scored differently when I took them than they are now, but my scores were high. Not perfect, but high. My grades in high school were excellent, with minimal effort.

As far as "pre-med program" - there really isn't such a thing. It's not necessary. You need a bachelors degree in ANYTHING, along with certain required science courses (biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics). Your academic advisor in college can steer you in the right direction in that regard.

In college, major in whatever interests you, even if that's medieval history or Russian literature. You do NOT have to have a science major, unless, of course, that is what you are most interested in. Get outstanding grades, and really learn the science material so that you can do well on the MCAT.

I went to a state school for college and medical school. I majored in psychology. I did very well on the MCAT and got accepted into several medical schools.

Medical school classes aren't necessarily difficult to understand, but you have to assimilate a staggering amount of information in a short period of time. If you can't pick things up quickly, you'll have trouble. One of the best things you can do to prepare yourself is to learn how to learn things quickly, if that makes sense. Develop good study habits, and that sort of thing.

Good luck to you!

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Take the time this summer and attend as many free lectures or presentations that are offered by the local colleges in your area. Even a hum-drum sounding seminar may have some interesting information to offer you, and if you find the lecture impossible, you can leave without losing any money.

I had a 4.0 in high school with decent SAT scores and took summer school courses to get the college prerec classes out of the way. I got accepted to many colleges, but I couldn't decide if I wanted to study medicine or law. Then I went to a free summer lecture on the study of osteopathy and decided that medicine was the way to go, but I also met a Berkeley professor who was one of only 6 professionals who practiced both law and medicine.

My friends thought I was crazy, and my family didn't care as long as I stayed out of trouble and didn't put them in debt, so I decided to study both. I went to Touro University College of Osteopathy Medicine in Vallejo, California and Hastings Law School in San Francisco while working part-time so I didn't have to eat Kleenex. It was HARD work, and some days I thought I'd go crazy with all the stuff I had to study and do, but it was very rewarding and a lot of fun in many ways.

Don't kill yourself over getting stellar SAT scores in high school, but do try to knock out as many prerec classes as possible. The MCAT (or LSAT if you study law) is what counts, and once those knick-knack courses are out of the way, you can concentrate on your major(s).

Oh, and my little brother virtually flunked out of high school, but once he got into college (which was alot more fun), he breezed through and is now a forensic engineer. Not too shabby for him, who I used to call Demon Spawn.

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